Hands on: Pulse News 3.0 update is shiny and ready to aggregate

Every news organization wants to have its pulse on the topic it focuses on. In the ever broadening scope of news that the Web allows for, there is more specific niche coverage than ever before; it can take extra clicks to get all the news you need. This is where a good news aggregator comes in, and there are few more notable than Pulse News. But even the big names need a new look every once in a while. If you use Pulse on an Android or iOS device, you may notice a new look to your favorite news aggregator. As it turns out, there’s plenty of substance to go with the style, as well.

The redesign to the Pulse News app comes to provide a uniformed look across platforms. Namely, it makes the mobile app fall more in line with the look that the recently launched Web app established. It’s similar to the earlier version, but is a little slicker and somewhat reminiscent to Windows 8 in its boxiness. This works to its favor, as the layout is very intuitive and manages to make information for a wide range of sources look like it belongs in the same app. Gone is the horizontal, tab-style browsing. A new sidebar is your guide to the news. It’s simple and there’s a lot less jumping back and forth. It’s definitely an improvement in navigation.

This navigation enhancement lets you scroll through a lot more content than before. You are no longer limited in the number of pages you can create or news feeds listed on a page. In past versions, users had their feed subscriptions and pages capped, forcing choices like “Do I want to get updates from the Ellen Degeneres Show or Field and Stream Magazine?” Now you can get it all, so your eclectic choices needn’t be stifled. Having the ability to create an unlimited number of pages is probably the biggest improvement in the update, as you can now dedicate just a couple sources from a particular category and not feel like you’re throwing away potential space for other content. If you’re really into motorcycles and want to create a separate page for it, you can do so and just keep the two or three feeds relevant to that without fear of wasted space.

New to the Pulse News app is the ability to search for specific news not within your pages. It scans across everything from Google and Tumblr to Reddit and YouTube for content that fits your keyword and allows you to subscribe to updates on the given topic.

All of this adds up to a solid update. If you haven’t used Pulse News before, this is a good time to do so. With the addition of unlimited content feeds and personalized organization, Pulse has to be considered a top contender for news aggregation. It gives you access to some great, well-respected sources and lets you add your own if you don’t see what you’re after. Pulse News has all the news that’s fit to pixelate.